


Ladybug, Ladybug

by Wintermoth



Series: The Adventures of Adrienbug and Chat Mari [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Companion piece to Soft Kitty Warm Kitty, F/M, Gen, IN WHICH ADRIEN STRUGGLES, Powerswap AU, The Adventures of Adrienbug and Chat Mari, and there are a lot of spiders (sorry not sorry) and an akuma I plan on playing more with later, in which Adrien deals with 'bug things'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-23 21:46:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6131155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wintermoth/pseuds/Wintermoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien sat there, staring at the flower in his hand that he had just taken a bite out of, and tried very hard not to scream.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ladybug, Ladybug

Adrien knew almost from the beginning that things would be different after becoming Ladybug. Tikki had warned him before even the first signs began to show and was quick to point them out when they manifested, sometimes even before Adrien himself noticed. Other times she wasn't able to catch it in time and all she could do was explain to him afterwards.

Some of the changes weren't very drastic or noticeable. It took him months to figure out that he found lighter colors to be more appealing and he was more comfortable in lighter colored rooms. He had never been one for hot temperatures but he preferred them now over cold ones. Standing in front of a fan for ten minutes at a photoshoot had made him feel sluggish and uncomfortable, to the point where the photographer had to order him to take a break because he wasn't doing anything useable. Winter was going to be trouble; he just knew it.

Some changes were the exact opposite. They were big, impossible to ignore, and overall problematic.

Possessiveness was the first thing to manifest. After his initial reaction to seeing Chat Noire running on the rooftops before he knew who or what she was, he had been prompted to do a bit of research and confirmed that ladybugs were, indeed, very territorial. Within just a few weeks, he realized that fell into one of two categories: 'his' and 'not his'. His fencing equipment: his. The contents of his closet: his. The stuff on Natalie's desk: not his. Pretty straightforward.

The rooftops: his (and Chat Noire's, of course, but she was a special exception.) The Agreste Mansion: his. College Francois-Dupont: his. By extent, he considered Paris his as well, although he didn't expect anyone to ever try and contest this claim so he didn't think much of it.

Tikki: his. (Adrien: Tikki's.)

People were a bit more complicated. He recognized the fact that he couldn't own anyone but his brain (particularly while he was Ladybug) insisted that everyone was either his or not. On some level, he identified everyone in Paris as his. His city, his people. But it was the personal relationships that really defined who was his and who wasn't. His father, Natalie, Gorilla, and most of the house staff: his. The new gardener that had been hired when Adrien expressed an interest in having more flowers around the property: not his. And the rush of contempt he'd felt for the strange man upon seeing him in the yard had been quite a surprise.

Tikki reassured him that it wouldn't always be so intense. He wasn't a very possessive person by nature and his psyche was a bit overwhelmed by the new instincts. Sooner or later he'd find the whole thing much easier to manage and ignore.

Of course, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the person who held the number one spot in the 'his' category was his masked partner: Chat Noire. Every time he saw her, some part of his mind reminded him that she was _his_ and it a smile to his face. With it also came a sense of determination. They lived a dangerous life, after all. One might argue that between the two of them, he was the more important one since only he could purify akuma and set everything right, but that didn't stop him from throwing himself between her and their foe. He couldn't _not._ She was his and he protected what was his.

Aside from possessiveness, the other major change he'd noticed involved flowers. He'd never been a flower person. He could appreciate them for their beauty but he'd never been all that into them and it had been a long time since he'd stopped to smell them. Not anymore. It happened gradually after becoming Ladybug, so much so that he didn't notice it right away, and Tikki never said anything about it.

At first, it was flowers catching his eye more easily than before, which grew into a hyperawareness of any flowers around him at any given time. Then he found himself gravitating towards them, drawn in by their beauty and entranced by the strange yet _appetizing_ scent they all carried. By this point, he knew something was up. This was Not Normal and it had already gotten him in trouble once at a photoshoot. Apparently wondering off to smell some flowers he'd noticed on the way in was not acceptable model behavior. (Who knew, right?)

It was only once he actually _ate_ a marigold that Tikki stepped in. Adrien sat there, staring at the flower in his hand that he had just taken a bite out of, and tried very hard not to scream.

Then Tikki appeared at his elbow and regarded the flower with interest. She stared at it for a moment and then looked up at him. "Ladybugs eat pollen," she said without preamble. "Most humans are too big to get just pollen so my bugs that develop the taste for it usually end up just eating whole flowers. …You may as well finish it."

"I—I don't want to," he stammered.

"Oh. Can I have it then?"

He exhaled sharply through his nose in exasperation and lifted the flower invitingly. Tikki let out a gleeful trill and lunged towards it.

It was worse when he was transformed. Not only did he have all of the things that _Adrien_ dealt with when it came to flowers but _Ladybug_ would sort them all into two categories upon inspection: appetizing and unappetizing. He decided this had to be Tikki's influence because he lacked any frame of reference for such judgments. After doing a bit of research, he found that most of the flowers that he thought would be appetizing were the kind that attracted the beetles themselves.

Adrien often wondered if Chat Noire was going through her own similar struggles and Tikki assured him that she was. He wished he could talk to her about it but he wasn't sure how to even bring the subject up. _"So…have you found yourself in the position of doing really stupid cat things lately?"_ probably wouldn't go over very well. Fortunately (or unfortunately, in his opinion), the opportunity presented itself in September.

Ladybugs had a few natural predators, mostly bigger bugs, like spiders, and frogs. Frogs weren't much of a concern since he lived in a big city. Spiders, however, were a different story altogether. Yet another example of something Adrien had never paid much attention to before now. He'd always been the kid who refused to kill the spiders he found, he'd just scoop them onto a sheet of paper or something similar and turn them loose outside. (In the mind of his younger self, he didn't think it was fair to kill the spider because surely it had lots of friends out there that would miss it if it never came back.)

Fourteen years of kindness promptly went out the window when he spotted a spider scuttling across the floor of the dining room at lunch one afternoon. The sight of the arachnid sent a shot of fear through him unlike anything he was used to and tore an unholy (and definitely unmanly) shriek out of his mouth. He abandoned the room, his food, his dignity, and considered setting fire to the whole house just to kill the evil monster he now knew lurked within.

Tikki assured him he would have her complete support should he actually follow through.

So of course, less than a week after he discovered this fear, Hawkmoth unleashed the unholiest of akumas. Her name was the Arachnidame and when Ladybug first heard her shout her name, he thanked God that only her costume was spider-like. Chat Noire arrived not long after and they fell into their budding rhythm to locate her akuma and take her down whilst avoiding the sticky webbing she shot from her hands. It was going well…right up until the part Arachnidame decided she wanted some backup and transformed a group of unsuspecting civilians into spiders the size of large dogs.

Both heroes screamed at exactly the same time and at right about the same pitch.

Chat Noire took the new development in stride and began to whirl her yo-yo threateningly at the oncoming spiders.

Ladybug activated his wings. "NOPE!" He seized his partner by the waist.

"Bug?! What are you dooiiiiiii-IIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNGGG?!" she screeched as he shot into the air faster than the TGV.

"NOPE."

"Put me down!"

"NOPE."

"We can't just leave! We have to go back!"

"NOPE."

"LADYBUG!"

"SPIDERS, MINOU! SPIDERS EAT LADYBUGS!"

Chat Noire's protests died in her throat and she gaped at him. Then, to his shock, she nodded in understanding and adjusted her death grip on his neck into something more comfortable and simply wrapped her legs around his waist for better leverage. Any other time, Ladybug would be freaking out about this development (a _girl_ had her _legs_ around his _waist,_ a girl he might possibly have a crush on, no less!) but they were still very much in danger and he needed to get as far as possible from those hairy demons and protect his partner.

"Bug, land us somewhere," she commanded, her mouth inches from his ear. He nodded stiffly.

Though it was very much an eyesore, the Tour Montparnasse did have its uses, particularly for him. When out flying, he would often use it as a place to land and the view was divine at night. There were usually tourists up there during the day but, for the moment, it was the best option. If they landed outside the railing, the could at least avoid being hounded. And he was sure the spiders would not reach them up there.

He alighted on the rooftop beyond the wall and, of course, the people who had seen him coming were crowding behind the glass. They waved and snapped pictures but Ladybug was far too tense to humor them. Chat Noire climbed off him, smoothing out her skirt, then straightened up and folded her arms. He presented his back to the tourists and she mirrored his stance.

"Sorry I bugged out," he apologized.

"I understand," she assured him with a hint of a smile. "Really, I do. It happens to me, too. We have to go back, though."

"I don't know if I can. You know this isn't something I can just shake."

Chat Noire folded her arms and looked at him thoughtfully. "How long do you think your wings will last?"

Ladybug fluttered them and considered the energy level he could feel within himself. "Maybe…ten minutes?"

"Ten minutes, okay. I have an idea…but you're probably not going to like it."

"Lay it on me."

She was right. He didn't like it.

He was playing bait. Spider bait. It was by far his least favorite plan _ever_. All he had to do was lead the spiders on a merry chase around the block whilst Chat Noire faced down the Arachnidame on her own. He did not like having twelve huge spiders hot on his heels but he liked leaving her alone with the akuma even less. ( _She's a cat_ , he told himself. _Cats kill spiders, she was higher on the food chain. …_ It didn't help.)

It took him exactly three minutes to circle the block with the spiders and only because he had to double back once to get the attention of one of the spiders that had broken off from the pack to lunge at some civilians it found. He could have gone slower to give her more time but he was painfully aware of every second they were apart and he couldn't stand it. It wasn't that he didn't trust her—just the opposite, actually—but he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to her while he wasn't there.

When he got back, Arachnidame was pinned beneath a fallen light pole and Chat Noire stood proudly on top of both, casually bobbing her yo-yo up and down. She waved at him with her free hand he dove down, scooping her up in his arms bridal style, and carried her to the nearest roof.

With a smile and a tap on the top of her yo-yo, she released the akuma so he could purify it. After the Light had done its work and his wings had disappeared, he landed next to her once more. Her tail was flicking happily behind her and his eyes were drawn to it like always, but only for a moment because then she was laughing and her face was much more enjoyable to watch.

"So," she said when her laughter died. "Spiders?"

"Yeah." He folded his arms. "I didn't used to be scared of them, either."

"To be fair, they were the size of dogs. I think most sane people would've had your reaction. If it makes you feel any better, I about jumped out of my skin when a dog barked at me the other day."

"Out of your fur, you mean?"

"Ha ha." She rolled her eyes and her Miraculous let out a beep. She touched her ear briefly. "It's not just spiders, right? There are other things?"

Ladybug nodded. "Bug things. What about you?"

"Cat things."

He grinned, suddenly imagining all the shenanigans he'd seen in cat videos on the internet. His miraculous beeped. "Chasing laser pointers, jumping at cucumbers, knocking cups off the table?"

Chat Noire made a face. "I knocked one of my mom's wall ornaments off the wall." He howled with laughter and she groaned, covering her face with her hands. "You're terrible."

"I…ate…a flower," he told her between laughs.

Her jaw dropped and she gawked at him for a split second and then she was laughing just as hard as he was.

"I drank an entire jug of milk in two days."

"I ran out of the dining room screaming because I saw a spider."

She laughed again and he smiled in relief. Once more she proved herself to be the only one who could truly understand him, at least as far as being a Miraculous wielder went. He took comfort in knowing that despite how bizarre things could get for him there was someone else out there, somewhere in the city, who knew and understood his struggle.

…And now that he knew for sure, he really, really hoped he would catch her in the act of one of these 'cat things.'

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr as wintermoth if anyone wants to follow me. I post excerpts about upcoming chapters sometimes and I'm always willing to talk about ML.


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